This invention relates to arming-safing systems for airborne weapons, and more particularly to systems for arming or safing air dropped weapons a predetermined distance below the aircraft.
The arming of air launched weapons upon release from an aircraft has been the subject of considerable research in recent years. Devices employed by the various systems have the common objective of arming the weapon only after a safe intentional separation of the weapon and aircraft has occurred. Lanyards or arming wires attached to the aircraft and designed to be pulled free of the weapon upon separation to initiate an arming sequence were quite satisfactory for relatively low speed aircraft. The development, however, of jet aircraft capable of operating at near sonic and supersonic speeds complicated the problem. Not only were lanyards or arming wires subject to excessive stresses in flight, but subsequent to weapon launch, the lanyards or arming wires buffeted and frequently damaged the aircraft.
Electrical arming systems appeared to be an answer to the problem, but the manifold increase in numbers and power of radio and radar equipment, especially aboard aircraft carriers, caused these systems to be hazardous to explosive ordnance. These hazards were present even with mechanical lanyards or arming wires, as electromagnetic energy could gain access to explosives through electrical cabling used for control or selection, or through any openings in the weapon casing. A system was needed that could operate through a completely sealed and electrically shielded case, providing means for the selection of weapon options in addition to providing for arming of the weapon. Such a system would provide inherent immunity to the serious hazards of electromagnetic radiation to ordnance.
In addition to being free of external mechanical or electromechanical connections and providing complete electrical shielding, a satisfactory remote arming system should have other desirable characteristics. The sealed-in components should be capable of long term inert storage, be ready for use with a minimum of preparation, and require no time-consuming or possibly hazardous loading or checkout procedure on the aircraft.